Why was this group created and what is their purpose?
By Anne Carlisle
The ENPSIT (European Network for Public Service Interpreting and Translation) conference in Paris, June 2015, brought together a number of testing and accreditation authorities from different parts of the world. Of these, representatives from the UK, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Canada and Australia sat down following the conference at an informal meeting to address and discuss issues arising around testing, recognition and accreditation of translators and interpreters working in the public services. All the bodies represented were seeking to signal competence to practice and although operating differently in our respective nations as a result of different legislative, educational and regulatory structures, we collectively faced many common or similar challenges.
And thus ILCN was born! The group – comprising certification authorities, awarding organisations and regulatory bodies amongst others – agreed to set up an informal network to share knowledge and good practice, to exchange experiences and lessons learned and to jointly address and find solutions to the common challenges faced. The initials areas of interest for collaboration identified by those present at the meeting included: the impact of technology change on candidate assessment and accreditation; assessing and certifying ‘rare’ languages where expertise is often equally rare; and the application (and development) of international standards.
Network participants have varying levels of expertise in these areas and the network aims to collaborate in addressing these issues to provide economies of scale and broader benefits such as faster routes to development, shared resourcing and best practice. Future activities might include joint research, shared standard setting or bids to attract funding.
The network would be happy to hear from other organisations interesting in joining the group. Please contact Ann.Carlisle@ciol.org.uk
Network members include:
- National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI), Australia
- Chartered Institute of Linguists/IoL Educational Trust, UK
- Flanders Integration Agency, Belgium
- National Register of Public Service Interpreters, UK
- Critical Link International, Canada
- ImDi, Norway
- Bureau of Sworn Interpreters and Translators, Netherlands